Arkansas State football holds weekly press conference, prepares to face Grambling on Saturday

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - It’s Talkin Tuesday with the Red Wolves.

Arkansas State football held their weekly press conference, we’re just 4 days away from the season opener.

“We got that edge, a lot of guys willing to work, wanting to put in that hard time,” QB James Blackman said. “We know it’s going to take a lot of work, but we’ve put in the work in. Now it’s trying to clean up all the small details and get ready to go play a great game Saturday. We want to move fast but fast is smooth, smooth is fast. And that’s how we want to move.

Sophomore safety Justin Parks says expect to see an improved Red Wolves defense. “I would tell the fans that honestly, this season you’ll see a way more physical defense. A defense that communicates and really is excited to play the game. I feel like we weren’t excited enough last year on defense. We didn’t take pride enough from stopping teams from scoring. And I feel like we will eliminate those big explosive plays, those 1 play touchdowns.

The 2022 Red Wolves are one of the youngest teams in the country. Only 3 teams in FBS have more underclassmen (freshmen/sophomores) on their roster. Head coach Butch Jones wants to see his pack howl out of the gates.

“You work year-round for 12 opportunities to be able to play the game that you love. Why would you not be excited to play this game? If you’re not excited, why do you go through everything else that’s associated to be able to play in this type of environment, be able to play in games that mean something. So that’s something that we talk about every single day in our football program. And we all know that’s something that we have to do a much better job of.”

Arkansas State hosts Grambling State Saturday at 6:00pm at Centennial Bank Stadium. If you can’t make it to The Vault, the game will be streamed on ESPN3.

Copyright 2022 KAIT. All rights reserved.